Iranian breast cancer patient Farvah shares a moment with her fiance Saleh on her way to the operation room before her mastectomy operation to remove a breast which was turned to a lumpectomy during the procedure as the pathology results were good meaning she could keep her breast at a clinic in Tehran on October 14, 2013.
BEHROUZ MEHRI/AFP/Getty Images

The battle against breast cancer is long and difficult, and one of the many issues women have to grapple with is whether to have reconstructive surgery after a mastectomy.

In a recent Los Angeles Times op-ed, an internal medicine doctor wrote about the decision-making process of one of his patients who ultimately decided not to get reconstructive surgery after having both breasts removed, despite implicit encouragement from her oncologist.

The decision is loaded and highly personal, and the factors women consider can encompass identity, societal beauty standards, spousal expectations and the willingness to undergo further surgery and recovery.

AirTalk opens up the phones to talk to women and their families about the decision on whether to undergo reconstructive breast surgery.

Call us at 866-893-5722.

Guest:

Maggie DiNome, M.D., Chief of Breast Surgery at UCLA; she’s a surgical breast specialist who focuses her practice on the surgical care of patients with benign and malignant breast disease